Presentation and analysis of user interaction data

ABSTRACT

An interactive, graph-based user interaction data analysis system is disclosed. The system is configured to provide analysis and graphical visualizations of user interaction data to a system operator. In various embodiments, interactive visualizations and analyzes provided by the system may be based on user interaction data aggregated across particular groups of users, across particular time frames, and/or from particular computer-based platforms and/or applications. According to various embodiments, the system may enable insights into, for example, user interaction patterns and/or ways to optimize for desired user interactions, among others. In an embodiment, the system allows an operator to analyze and investigate user interactions with content provided via one or more computer-based platforms, software applications, and/or software application editions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/035,889, filed Sep. 24, 2013, and titled “PRESENTATION AND ANALYSISOF USER INTERACTION DATA”, the entirety of which is hereby incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to systems and techniques for user dataintegration, analysis, and visualization. More specifically, the presentdisclosure relates to user interaction data integration, analysis,presentation, and visualization.

BACKGROUND

In the area of computer-based platforms, user interaction data may becollected, analyzed, and/or presented with the goal of improvingparticular aspects of user interactions. For example, in a web-basedcontext, user interaction data may include various metrics including thetime a user visits a web page, the length of time the user spends on theweb page, the number of times a user visits the web page over somelength of time, the source from which the user came to the web page, thedestination of the user after leaving the web page, and/or variousinteractions of the user with the web page, among others. Such user datamay be aggregated across many users. The user interaction data may thenbe analyzed and presented to, for example, an operator. In general, theterm analytics may describe the process of user interaction datacollection, analysis, and presentation so as to provide insights.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods, and devices described herein each have severalaspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of this disclosure, severalnon-limiting features will now be discussed briefly.

The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure provide,among other features, an interactive, graph-based user interaction dataanalysis system (“the system”) configured to provide analysis andvisualizations of user interaction data to a system operator. In variousembodiments, interactive visualizations and analyses provided by thesystem may be based on user interaction data aggregated acrossparticular groups of users, across particular time frames, and/or fromparticular computer-based platforms or applications. According tovarious embodiments, the system may enable insights into, for example,user interaction patterns and/or ways to optimize for desired userinteractions, among others.

According to an embodiment, a computer system is disclosed comprising:one or more computer readable storage devices configured to store: oneor more software modules including computer executable instructions; andone or more sets of user interaction data, each of the one or more setsof user interaction data collected from interactions of users withrespective content items provided through one or more platforms, the oneor more platforms comprising software applications configured to providethe content items to respective users; and one or more hardware computerprocessors in communication with the one or more computer readablestorage devices and configured to execute the one or more softwaremodules in order to cause the computer system to: access a particularset of user interaction data associated with a particular platform, theparticular set of user interaction data representing interactions ofmultiple users with respective content items provided through theparticular platform; generate, based on the accessed particular set ofuser interaction data, an interactive user interface configured fordisplay on an electronic display of the computer system, the interactiveuser interface including at least a graph including: two or more nodeseach representing respective content items, and at least one edgeconnecting respective nodes as an indication of user transitions betweenthe respective nodes, wherein locations of the two or more nodes of thegraph on the interactive user interface are automatically determinedbased on at least one of repulsive forces associated with each of thetwo or more nodes or contractive forces associated with each of the atleast one edge.

According to an aspect, the two or more nodes and the at least one edgemay be individually selectable by an operator of the computer system,and, in response to selection of at least one of the two or more nodesor one of the at least one edge, the computer system may be furtherconfigured to: update the interactive user interface to further includeone or more metrics based on interactions of users represented by theselected at least one of the two or more nodes or the at least one edge.

According to another aspect, accessing the particular set of userinteraction data associated with the particular platform may furthercomprise accessing user interaction data associated with a particulartimeframe.

According to yet another aspect, the repulsive force associated witheach of the two or more nodes may be based on a number of usersinteracting with content items represented by respective nodes.

According to another aspect, at least one of the repulsive forcesassociated with the two or more nodes or the contractive forcesassociated with the at least one edge may be adjustable by an operator.

According to yet another aspect, the contractive forces associated witheach of the at least one edge may be based on a number of usertransitions from one content item to another content item represented byeach respective edge.

According to another aspect, each of the two or more nodes may representinteractions of users with content items, wherein the content itemscomprise articles, and wherein the represented interactions include atleast a number of user visits to a particular article of the particularplatform.

According to yet another aspect, the computer system may be furtherconfigured to: in response to receiving an input from an operator of thecomputing system selecting to view an article table, display on the userinterface an article table including a list of articles and associatedmetrics.

According to another aspect, each of the two or more nodes may representinteractions of users with content items, wherein the content itemscomprise sections, and wherein the represented interactions include atleast user visits to a particular section of the particular platform,wherein the particular section includes one or more pages of theparticular platform.

According to yet another aspect, the one or more platforms may includeat least one of a smartphone app, a tablet app, or a web app.

According to another aspect, each at least one edge may be directionaland curved.

According to another embodiment, a computer system is disclosedcomprising: one or more computer readable storage devices configured tostore: one or more software modules including computer executableinstructions; and one or more sets of user interaction data collectedfrom interactions of users with respective content items providedthrough a software application configured to provide the content itemsto respective users; and one or more hardware computer processors incommunication with the one or more computer readable storage devices andconfigured to execute the one or more software modules in order to causethe computer system to: generate, based on a particular set of userinteraction data, a user interface including a graph comprising nodesand at least one edge, the nodes representing respective content items,the at least one edge connecting respective nodes and indicating usertransitions between the respective nodes; receive, at the userinterface, one or more inputs from an operator of the computer system;and in response to the one or more inputs, dynamically updating thegraph.

According to an aspect, further in response to the one or more inputs,the computer system may be further configured to update the graph by atleast one of: adding nodes and/or edges, removing nodes and/or edges,and adjusting locations of the nodes and/or edges.

According to another aspect, the computer system may be furtherconfigured to: in response to receiving an input from the operatorindicating selection of a transition display threshold, determine, foreach at least one edge, a number of user transitions represented by thatedge; and in response to the number of user transitions represented by aparticular edge being less than the selected transition displaythreshold, not display the particular edge in the graph.

According to yet another aspect, the computer system may be furtherconfigured to: in response to receiving an input from the operatorindicating selection of an animation option associated with a particularselected node, successively adding edges and nodes to the graph in ananimated fashion, wherein each successively added node represents a mostcommon user destination from a previously added node.

According to another aspect, the graph may comprise a force-directedgraph, and the graph is configured to automatically and/or fluidlyadjust to an optimal view according to a force-directed graph drawingalgorithm.

According to yet another aspect, the content items may include at leastone of news content, textual content, visual content, audio content, orvideo content.

According to another aspect, each node may include a fill color and/or aborder color based on one or more user interactions associated with thenode.

According to yet another aspect, each node may be sized based on one ormore user interactions associated with the node.

According to yet another embodiment, a computer system is disclosedcomprising: one or more computer readable storage devices configured tostore: one or more software modules including computer executableinstructions; and one or more sets of user interaction data, each of theone or more sets of user interaction data collected from interactions ofusers with respective content items provided through one or moreplatforms, the one or more platforms comprising software applicationsconfigured to provide the content items to respective users; and one ormore hardware computer processors in communication with the one or morecomputer readable storage devices and configured to execute the one ormore software modules in order to cause the computer system to:generate, based on at least one of the one or more sets of userinteraction data, a user interface including at least one graphcomprising nodes and at least one edge, the nodes representingrespective content items, the at least one edge connecting respectivenodes and indicating user transitions between the respective nodes,wherein an operator of the computer system may interact with the atleast one graph in order to determine one or more user interactionpatterns associated with the one or more platforms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following aspects of the disclosure will become more readilyappreciated as the same become better understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description, when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A illustrates a sample user interface of the user interaction dataanalysis system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates another sample user interface of the userinteraction data analysis system in which settings information isdisplayed, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 1C-1D illustrate sample settings options of the user interactiondata analysis system, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate additional sample user interfaces of the userinteraction data analysis system, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3A illustrates a sample user interface of the user interaction dataanalysis system in which a sections graph is displayed, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3B-3F illustrate sample section information sidebars of the userinteraction data analysis system, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4F illustrate sample user interfaces of the user interactiondata analysis system in which graph nodes are added or removed,according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a sample user interface of the user interaction dataanalysis system in which an article table is displayed, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate sample information sidebars of the userinteraction data analysis system, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart depicting illustrative operations of the userinteraction data analysis system, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate a network environment and computer systems anddevices with which various methods and systems discussed herein may beimplemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

In order to facilitate an understanding of the systems and methodsdiscussed herein, a number of terms are defined below. The terms definedbelow, as well as other terms used herein, should be construed toinclude the provided definitions, the ordinary and customary meaning ofthe terms, and/or any other implied meaning for the respective terms.Thus, the definitions below do not limit the meaning of these terms, butonly provide exemplary definitions.

Overview

An interactive, graph-based user interaction data analysis system (“thesystem”) is disclosed. The system is configured to provide analysisand/or graphical visualizations of user interaction data to a systemoperator (or one or more operators). In various embodiments, interactivevisualizations and analyses provided by the system may be based on userinteraction data aggregated across particular groups of users, acrossparticular time frames, and/or from particular computer-based platformsand/or applications. According to various embodiments, the system mayenable insights into, for example, user interaction patterns and/or waysto optimize for desired user interactions, among others. In anembodiment, the system allows an operator to analyze and investigateuser interactions with content provided via one or more computer-basedplatforms, software applications, and/or software application editions.

In an embodiment, data is collected by the system from user interactionsat various computing devices and/or mobile computing devices. The systemthen processes the user interaction data and provides an interactiveuser interface to the operator through which the user interaction datamay be displayed and inputs may be received. In an embodiment, thesystem comprises software including one or more software modules. Thesoftware modules may be stored on one or more media devices, and may beexecutable by one or more processors. The software modules may includemodules for collecting user interaction data, processing the data,displaying a user interface to the operator of the system, and/orreceiving inputs from the operator.

In an embodiment, the interactive user interface includes userinteraction data displayed in the form of a two-dimensionalforce-directed graph consisting of nodes and edges. Nodes may generallyrepresent pages and/or articles of content with which users haveinteracted. Edges may generally represent transitions of users from onepage and/or article to another. In an embodiment, edges may bedirectional, meaning that the direction of the transition from sourcepage/article to destination page/article may be represented by, forexample, arrows. Nodes and edges may be colored, sized, and/or otherwisemanipulated to provide insightful information, visualizations, and/oranalysis regarding the user interaction data. For example, the relativesize of a node may, for example, indicate the number of unique uservisitors to the particular page/article associated with that node. Inanother example, the width of an edge may be sized in proportion to thenumber of users that transitioned from one associated page/article tothe other. In an embodiment, a node and/or edge may be selected by theoperator. Selection of a node and/or edge may cause display of userinteraction data and/or metrics associated with that node and/or edge.

In an embodiment, the two-dimensional force-directed graph displayed inthe user interface automatically and/or fluidly adjusts to an optimalview according to any force-directed graph drawing algorithm. Forexample, the graph may be generated such that all the edges are similarin length and there are as few crossing edges as possible. This may beaccomplished by assigning repulsion forces among the set of nodes and/orcontracting forces among the set of edges and, based on their relativepositions, moving the edges and nodes to minimize their energy. In anembodiment, the forces assigned to the edges and/or nodes areproportional to one or more related user interaction metrics. Forexample, with respect to edges, the assigned edge force may becorrelated with the number of users that transitioned along the edge. Inan embodiment, the graph of the user interface may comprise athree-dimensional graph, and/or may comprise more than three dimensionsor other types of graphs.

In an embodiment, the use of a force-directed graph (also referred to asa force layout) enables visualization and analysis of any type ofgeneric structure or dataset. In various embodiments, other types ofgraphs and/or layouts may be implemented in the system. For example,other types of layouts may include trees, lines, plots, charts, maps,clusters, and/or diagrams.

In an embodiment, the graph may be manipulated by the operator. Forexample, the operator may move individual nodes and/or groups of nodes.In an embodiment, the graph may re-adjust automatically when a node oredge has been manipulated and/or moved. In an embodiment, the user maychoose to freeze the graph so that the graph does not re-adjust whenindividual nodes and/or edges are manipulated or moved. In an example,nodes may be selectively added or removed by the operator. In anotherexample, nodes may be automatically added to the graph based on somecriteria in an animated fashion. In an embodiment, the operator mayselect an edge/transition display threshold that determines what edgesare displayed in the graph. In another embodiment, the operator may setrepulsion values that adjust the forces assigned to nodes and/or edges.In various embodiments, the graph may be manipulated by the operator inother ways.

Example User Interaction Data Sources

As an illustrative non-limiting example, the user interaction dataanalysis system may be useful for analysis of user interactions withnews content provided by a media company. The media company may providevarious types of news content that may be divided into representativesections including, for example, world, local, business, health,opinion, and/or arts, among others. The news content may generally befurther divided into articles, for example.

In an embodiment, the same, or similar, news content may be accessibleto readers (also referred to as “users”) through various computer-basedplatforms (also referred to as “platforms,” “applications,” and/or“apps”). For example, the news content may be available to users througha software application running on a small mobile device (such as asmartphone or personal digital assistant), through a softwareapplication running on a larger mobile device (such as a tablet or othertouch-enabled device), and/or through a web browser software applicationrunning on any computer-based device (such as a laptop or desktopcomputer), among others. In the present disclosure, the applicationrunning on a small mobile device may be referred to as the “smartphoneapp,” the application running on the larger mobile device may bereferred to as the “tablet app,” and the web browser application may bereferred to as the “web app.”

In an embodiment, each platform (for example, the smartphone app, thetablet app, and/or the web app) may differ from the others in variousways. For example, in general, a web app may provide the news content tothe user in a layout similar to a traditional print newspaper. Forexample, many different articles, article headlines, and/or articlelinks may be displayed on a single page of the web app. Accordingly, theuser may, for example, navigate directly from a news content homepage toany of many other article pages and/or section pages. In contrast, atablet app may, for example, provide news content to the user in alayout more suitable to a smaller sized display screen. For example,only a few articles, headlines, and/or links may be displayed on a newscontent homepage (or any other page) on the tablet app. Accordingly, theuser may, for example, be restricted to navigating to one of only a fewarticles. For example, the tablet app may provide an interface in whicha user may view a single article at a time and swipe from one to thenext, the order of articles being predetermined. A smartphone app on theother hand, may, for example, provide news content to a user in a layoutwith similarities to each the web app and the tablet app. For example, anews content homepage in the smartphone app may display a longer list ofarticles, headlines, and/or links than the tablet app, but fewer thanthe web app. Further, the smartphone app may include a navigationinterface that encourages the user to swipe from one article to the next(as in the tablet app), but does not require such a liner navigation(unlike the tablet app).

In various embodiments, the various combinations of platforms and appsproviding user interaction data to the systems may differ in other waysnot mentioned above. For example, the various platforms may display thecontent in different formats, sizes, and/or typefaces, among others. Thevarious platforms may organize the content in different ways. Thevarious platforms may further include different interaction options. Forexample, while a smartphone or tablet may generally include a touchinterface and be navigable by touching the display/interface directly, alaptop (displaying the web app) may only be navigable with a mouse andcursor. In an embodiment, a particular platform may be navigable byvoice, and/or by some other way.

Further, in various embodiments, more or fewer platforms may beavailable for users to access a particular set of content, and fromwhich user interaction data may be provided to the system. For example,multiple platforms may be provided, each of which is optimized for useon a particular display size. In an embodiment, separate platforms maybe provided for computer-based devices with, for example, a 3.5 inchdisplay, a 4 inch display, a 5 inch display, a 7 inch display, a 10 inchdisplay, 12 inch display, and/or a display larger than 12 inches. In yetanother embodiment, platforms may be provided for particular displayresolutions and/or dimensions. In another example, multiple versions ofan app on a particular platform may be provided. Thus, two or moreversions and/or editions of a smartphone app, for example, may beprovided.

In an embodiment, data regarding user interactions with the news contenton each of the platforms is collected. This data is generally referredto herein as user interaction data. Individual types of user interactiondata are generally referred to herein as metrics. Various types of userinteraction data and/or metrics that may be collected include, forexample, the time a user visits/accesses/links to a particular page, thelength of time the user spends on the particular page, the number oftimes a user visits the particular page over some length of time, thesource from which the user came to the particular page, the destinationof the user after leaving the particular page, and/or variousinteractions of the user with the particular page, among others.Additional metrics may include, for example, demographic informationrelated to the user, the characteristics of the computer-based devicethe user is using, and/or the platform/app of the user, among others.Demographic information may include, for example, the user's age, theuser's gender, and/or the user's location, among other. Aggregatedmetrics may include, for example, the number of unique visitors to aparticular page over some length of time, the number of pageviews/refreshes over some length of time, the number of users exitingfrom a page to a non-tracked location (for example, out of the app) ortracked location (or some combination of the two) over some length oftime, and/or the number of users skipping past a particular page oversome length of time (where skipping past a page may be determined when auser remains on a page for less than some predefined short period oftime, for example), among others.

In various embodiments, the system may receive user interaction datafrom types of content other than news content. For example, the systemmay be useful for analyzing user interactions with other types oftextual content (e.g., social networking or other communicationcontent), visual content (such as photographic content), audio content,and/or video content, among others. In an embodiment, the system may beused in connection with content from a financial institution. Forexample, the system may be used to analyze user interactions with acredit card signup application. Relevant analysis of user interactionsin such an example may include, for example, determining the points atwhich users look for help, determining at which points users exit,and/or determining the points at which users have difficulty or take along period of time to transition to a next step, among others.

Sample User Interface—Example Web App Graph

Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described with reference tothe accompanying Figures, wherein like numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. The terminology used in the description presented herein isnot intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive manner,simply because it is being utilized in conjunction with a detaileddescription of certain specific embodiments of the disclosure.Furthermore, embodiments of the disclosure may include several novelfeatures, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirableattributes or which is essential to practicing the embodiments of thedisclosure herein described.

FIG. 1A illustrates a sample user interface of the user interaction dataanalysis system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.The user interface may be displayed in a browser window 102, and mayinclude a graph display area 104 (including graph 112 and key 110), anarticle information sidebar 106, and a settings button 108. Thefunctionality of the system as shown in FIG. 1A may be implemented inone or more computer modules and/or processors, as is described belowwith reference to FIGS. 8A-8B.

In the example of FIG. 1A, the graph 112 is a two-dimensionalforce-directed graph generated by the system based on aggregated web appuser interaction data collected over the course of one day. The contentcomprises news content, as described in the example above. News contentis used in many of the examples of the present disclosure forillustrative purposes, however, as noted above, the system may be usedin various other types of content. As described above, the graph 112includes nodes, for example nodes 114, 116, and 121 (represented ascircles of various sizes in this figure), and edges, for example edges118, 120, 125, and 123 (represented as lines of various thicknesses inthis figure). In the graph 112, the nodes represent articles, while theedges represent user transitions from one article to another article.

As indicated by the key 110, various news content sections arerepresented in the graph 112. Each of the nodes of the graph 112 isfilled with a pattern and/or color corresponding to its correspondingsection (see FIG. 1B for an enlarged representation of the nodes withthe patterns more distinguishable). For example, the operator hasselected node 116, and, as indicated by the pop over 122, node 116represents a homepage of the content, which falls under the News sectionof the content that is indicated by no fill color/pattern on the node116. Further, because homepage 116 is selected, corresponding userinteraction data and/or metrics are displayed in the article informationsidebar 106. In an embodiment, a pop over (such as pop over 122) may bedisplayed when the operator hovers a cursor over (or otherwise selects)a node and/or edge of the graph. The pop over may display anyinformation associated with the selected node and/or edge. For example,information included in a pop over may include an associated section, apage/article name (or other identifier), a transition source, atransition destination, and/or associated user metric information.Similarly, in an embodiment, associated user metric information may bedisplayed in the article information sidebar 106 when the operatorhovers a cursor over (or otherwise selects, such as by right-clicking orpressing a particular key combination) a node and/or edge of the graph.

In the graph 112, each of the nodes is relatively sized based on thenumber of unique visitors/users the corresponding article received overthe one day period represented. For example, the sizes of the nodesindicate that the homepage 116 received significantly more visitors thandid the article represented by node 114. Similarly, while the articlerepresented by node 121 received fewer visitors than did homepage 116,it received more visitors than did the article of node 114.

Additionally, in the graph 112, each of the edges' thickness isrelatively sized based on the number of users/visitors transitioningfrom one article to another article. For example, the thickness of edges123 and 125 as compared to edges 118 and 120 indicates that relativelymore users transitioned between node 121 and the homepage node 116 thanbetween node 114 and the homepage node 116. The direction of transitionis also indicated by the arrows on the edges of the graph 112. Forexample, edge 120 indicates transitions to node 114, while edge 118indicates transitions from node 114. The combination of variances inedge thickness and arrows indicating the direction of transitions mayenable an operator to easily determine, for example, that more userstransition to a particular article than transition away from theparticular article. For example, the edge leading to a particulararticle may be thicker than the edge leading away from away from aparticular article, indicating that at least a portion of the users thattransition to the article either then exit the app, or exit to anotherlocation not presently represented on the graph. In an embodiment, moreor fewer than one edge may lead to or from a particular node. The numberof edges displayed on the graph may vary based on a number of factorsincluding, for example, a transition display threshold (as describedbelow in reference to FIGS. 1B and 10.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the graph 112 may correspond to, forexample, patterns of user interaction with a web app. As describedabove, user navigation of a web app may be nonlinear as, while thehomepage of the web app may include many links to other pages/articles,each individual article may not include prominent direct links to, orother means of navigating directly to, other articles. A user may, forexample, navigate the web app by jumping from the homepage to anarticle, and then back to the homepage to find another article. Thisbehavior is reflected in the shape of the graph 112, and indeed thevisualization provided by the graph 112 makes the user interactionpattern very clear to the operator.

The shape of the graph 112 is further influenced by the forces assignedto each of the edges. In the example of FIG. 1A, the force assigned toan edge is set to be correlated with the number of users making therelated transition. Such an assignment of forces may, for example, causenodes having relatively more transitions to and/or from one another tobe relatively closer together than nodes having relatively fewertransitions to and/or from one another, in the displayed graph. Forexample, as shown in the graph 112, the nodes having more transitions toand from the homepage node 116 (as also indicated by the thicker lines)are positioned closest to the homepage node 116, while the nodes havingfewer transitions to and from the homepage node 116 are positionedfurther from the homepage node 116.

As mentioned above, the article information sidebar 106 includes userinteraction data and/or metrics associated with the currently selectednode, homepage 116. At indicator 124, primary metrics associated withthe selected article are displayed, including the article name(“Homepage”), the section to which the article belongs (“news”), thenumber of views the article has received over the time period currentlybeing viewed (208,523), the number of unique visitors to the articlepage over the current time period (29,220), and the number of exits fromthe article over the current time period (19,612, comprising 67.1% ofthe unique visitors). In an embodiment, the exits may indicate anytransitions from the selected section to any node not currentlyrepresented in the graph, to any location outside of the trackedpages/articles (for example, other pages that are not related to thecurrently tracked content), and/or a combination of the two. In anembodiment, the sidebar 106 may include any information relevant to thetype of content being displayed. For example, in the case of pages(rather than articles), a page name and/or other content identifier maybe displayed in the sidebar 106.

The article information sidebar 106 further includes destinationinformation 126. As shown, a truncated list of the most commondestinations of users transitioning from the selected article isdisplayed. Here, the most common destination is an article named“Example Article 1,” with 5,204 users going there (comprising 6.1% ofthe exits from the article).

The article information sidebar 106 also includes, at indicator 128,aggregated demographic information (including gender, age, location,among others) related the users visiting the selected article. For theselected homepage node 116 of FIG. 1A, the breakdown of visitors' genderand age may be seen in the article information sidebar 106.

In an embodiment, the sidebar 106 may be customizable by the operator.In an embodiment, other information and/or metrics may be displayed onthe sidebar including, for example, mean time spent, an exit type,and/or sources (indicating sources from which users transitioned to thecurrent article/page), among others. In an embodiment, any of theinformation displayed may be expandable. For example, the operator mayselect a link to “show more . . . ” or “view all sources,” at whichpoint a list of all the sources may be displayed. In variousembodiments, other information and/or links may be included in thesidebar, as described in reference to the other figures below.

FIG. 1B illustrates another sample user interface of the userinteraction data analysis system in which settings information isdisplayed, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Theuser interface of FIG. 1B includes an example graph 130, a settings pane132, and a collapsed article information sidebar 134. As shown, each ofthe article information sidebar and the settings pane may be expandedand/or collapsed by the operator.

The settings pane 132 includes options and/or settings that may be usedto alter the graph and/or display additional or different userinteraction data. FIGS. 1C-1D illustrate sample settings options of theuser interaction data analysis system, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The settings options shown in the settings pane 132(of FIG. 1B) or 150 (of FIG. 10) include “Choose Platform and Date,”“Set Transition Display Threshold,” “Color Node By,” “Color Border By,”“Size Nodes By,” “Set Repulsion,” “Toggle Movement,” “Toggle Lines(curved/straight),” “Toggle Display of Section Colors,” and “ShowArticle Table.” In various embodiments, more or fewer settings optionsmay be displayed in the settings pane 132.

Turning to FIG. 1D, in an embodiment, when the “Choose Platform andDate” option is selected by the operator, a selection dialog isdisplayed on the user interface similar to selection dialog 151. Asshown in selection dialog 151, the operator is given the option ofchoosing an edition (also referred to herein as a platform) from whichuser interaction data is to be displayed in the user interface. In theexample of FIG. 1D, the operator may select from three differenteditions/platforms of app data including: smartphone app data (here,iPhone app data), web app data, and tablet app data (here, iPad appdata). The various editions/platforms available for selection by theoperator may each also include and/or be subdivided into, in variousembodiments, one or more sessions. “Sessions” of app data may refer tocollections of app data corresponding to particular user behaviors, forexample, continuous user activity. For example, a “First Session” mayrefer to data collected that relates to a set of user's respective firstsessions on a particular day, where a session may be defined by a periodof continuous activity with no more than, for example, thirty minutes(or any other defined time period) between page views (or otheractivity, such as scrolling on the page or otherwise interacting withit). In the example of FIG. 1D, the operator may select, for each of thethree listed editions/platforms, a complete set of app data (forexample, “iPhone,” “Web,” and/or “iPad), or a particular session of appdata (for example, “iPhone—First Session,” and/or “Web—First Session”).In another embodiment, selection dialog 151 may include a listing ofvarious versions of each app/platform. For example, versions of an appmay correspond to, for example, different software builds of the samegeneral software application. For example, “iPhone” may correspond to afirst version of a smartphone app for which user data was collected.After some updates, the smartphone app may be re-built and re-deployedto users (for example, “iPhone—Version 2”), and additional user data maybe collected. The smartphone app may then be updated again (for example,“iPhone—Version 3”), re-built and re-deployed to users, and additionaluser data may be collected. In addition, or alternatively, the operatormay use selection dialog 152 to select a particular set of userinteraction data. For example, the operator may select from datacollected on any particular day. Once the operator has selected aplatform/edition, the selection dialog is removed from the userinterface, the relevant user interaction data is retrieved, and a graphis generated and displayed based on the retrieved user interaction data(as described previously).

In an embodiment, the operator may select a platform/edition and thenselect a set of data from that platform gathered on a particular day. Inan embodiment, more or fewer platforms may be included in selectiondialogs 151 and 152. In an embodiment, only platforms having currentlyavailable data are displayed in selection dialogs 151 and 152.

Turning back to FIG. 10, in an embodiment, when the “Set TransitionDisplay Threshold” option is selected by the operator, a selectiondialog is displayed on the user interface similar to selection dialog153. Selection dialog 153 allows the operator to select anedge/transition display threshold that determines what edges aredisplayed in the graph. For example, setting a threshold of 100 willcause any edges that represent fewer than 100 user transitions to not bedisplayed on the graph. In another example, setting a threshold of 5000will cause any edges that represent fewer than 5000 transitions to notbe displayed on the graph. Accordingly, in an embodiment, setting ahigher threshold causes fewer edges to appear in the graph. Such atransition/edge display threshold may enable removal of less importantedges from the graph so as to enable clearer viewing of nodes and edgesin the graph. More or fewer threshold options may be displayed in theselection dialog 153. In an embodiment, and as described below, theoperator may explicitly add and/or remove edges/transitions from thegraph. In an embodiment, edges/transitions may be explicitly addedand/or removed from the graph even when they are above or below thethreshold. In an embodiment, the system may automatically select adefault value for the transition display threshold. In other embodimentsthe threshold may be set in other manners using other user interfacecontrols. For example, in one embodiment the user can adjust thethreshold as the graph is displayed (e.g., graph 112 of FIG. 1A) suchthat the edges and nodes are dynamically added or removed as the useradjusts the threshold. In one embodiment, the user can adjust thethreshold up and down using a scroll wheel on a mouse or other inputdevice, arrows on the keyboard, or any other input device, todynamically adjust the threshold in order to increase or decrease thequantity of nodes and edges displayed.

In an embodiment, when the “Color Node By” option is selected by theoperator, a selection dialog is displayed on the user interface similarto selection dialog 154. Selection dialog 154 allows the operator toselect a node fill-color scheme. Example listed options include “Coloreach section” (in which each node is colored according to the sectionthat it belongs to), “Color black” (in which all the nodes are coloredblack), “Color by skip percentage” (in which the nodes are coloredand/or shaded, for example in grayscale, based on the percent of usersthat visited the particular page/article associated with the node andthen skipped, or exited, the page/article within a short period oftime), and “Color by exit percentage” (in which the nodes are coloredand/or shaded, for example in grayscale, based on the percent of usersthat visited the particular page/article associated with the node andthen exited to a page or location not currently being tracked). Invarious embodiments, other node coloring schemes/options may beprovided, including, for example, coloring or shading the nodes based onthe mean user reading time and/or coloring the nodes based on the numberof users who are male (or female in another embodiment) and remain onthe associated article/page for some period of time. In an embodiment,any metrics used for node sizing (as described below) may be used fornode coloring. In an embodiment, arbitrary functions may be defined forcoloring and/or shading the nodes based on one or more user interactionmetrics. For example, any metrics that return a discrete result (forexample, a categorical scale such as sections) and/or a continuousnumerical result (for example, a skip percentage) may be used infunctions defining node coloring/shading. In an embodiment, more orfewer node coloring options may be displayed in the selection dialog154. In an embodiment, the system may automatically select a defaultselection for the node color option.

In an embodiment, when the “Color Border By” option is selected by theoperator, a selection dialog is displayed on the user interface similarto selection dialog 156. Selection dialog 156 allows the operator toselect a node border-color scheme. Example listed options in FIG. 1Cinclude the same options as those listed in the choose node colorselection dialog 154. In general, and similar to the node fill color,the node border may be colored according to any metric-based criteriathe operator defines. In an embodiment, more or fewer border coloringoptions may be displayed in the selection dialog 156. In an embodiment,the system may automatically select a default selection for the nodeborder color option.

In an embodiment, the node fill-color scheme and the node border-colorscheme may each be advantageously selected so as to provide rich visualinformation to the operator. For example, in an embodiment the nodeborders may be set to indicate the section with which the node isassociated, while the node fill color may be selected to show greyscaleshading indicating the node exit percentage. Such an arrangement mayallow the operator to quickly identify the articles/pages and sectionsfrom which users are exiting the app.

In an embodiment, when the “Size Nodes By” option is selected by theoperator, a selection dialog is displayed on the user interface similarto selection dialog 158. Selection dialog 158 allows the operator toselect a node sizing scheme. Example listed options include “Uniquevisitor count (proportional area)” (in which the nodes are all sizedrelative to one another such that the area of each particular node isproportional to the number of unique visitors to the page associatedwith the particular node), “Unique visitor count (proportional radius)”(in which the nodes are all sized relative to one another such that theradius of each particular node is proportional to the number of uniquevisitors to the page associated with the particular node), “Logarithmicvisit count (radius scaled logarithmically with visits)” (in which thenodes are all sized relative to one another such that the radius of eachparticular node is scaled logarithmically according to the number ofunique visitors to the page associated with the particular node), and“Constant” (in which all the nodes are made the same size). In variousembodiments, other node sizing schemes/options may be provided,including, for example, sizing nodes according to reading time, or someother user interaction metric. Other examples of node sizing metrics mayinclude sizing based on exit proportion, skip proportion, a proportionof users deviating from a particular linear flow, and/or userdemographic proportions (for example, a percent that are male, and/or apercent that have an age older than 50 years), among others. In anembodiment, any metrics used for node coloring (as described above) maybe used for node sizing. In an embodiment, arbitrary functions may bedefined for sizing nodes based on one or more user interaction metrics.In an embodiment, more or fewer node sizing options may be displayed inthe selection dialog 158. In an embodiment, the system may automaticallyselect a default selection for the node sizing option.

In an embodiment, when the “Set Repulsion” option is selected by theoperator, a selection dialog is displayed on the user interface similarto selection dialog 160. Selection dialog 160 allows the operator toselect a repulsion value that adjusts the force assigned to nodes and/oredges. Setting a repulsion value may, for example, proportionally adjustthe force assigned to all nodes and/or edges, causing the graph toproportionally grow and/or shrink, or the nodes to move farther apart orcloser together. Such a repulsion adjustment may enable clearer viewingof nodes and edges when many nodes and edges are present in the graph.In various embodiments, more or fewer repulsion options may be displayedin the selection dialog 160. In an embodiment, the system mayautomatically select a default selection for the repulsion option and/ormay change the repulsion options automatically based on rules foroptimizing display of the graph.

In an embodiment, when the “Toggle Movement” option of the settings pane150 is selected by the operator, the displayed graph is toggled betweentwo movement states. In a first movement state, the nodes and edges mayautomatically move and adjust according to the assigned forces and inresponse to manipulations by the operator (as described above in thedescription of the force-directed graph). In a second movement state,the nodes and edges are “frozen” in place such that they do notautomatically move, but may still be moved and manipulated by theoperator. In an embodiment, the second movement state may be selected bythe operator such that the graph may more easily be manipulated andinvestigated. In an embodiment, the system may automatically select amovement state as a default selection for the toggle movement option.

In an embodiment, when the “Toggle Lines (curved/straight)” option ofthe settings pane 150 is selected by the operator, the displayed graphis toggled between two line states. In a first line state, the edgesbetween the nodes are curved, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In the firstline state, the directionality of the edges may be apparent from thearrows, and two separate edges connecting the same two nodes (forexample, one directed from a first node to a second node, and onedirected from the second node to the first node) may be visible. In asecond line state, the edges between the nodes are straight. In thesecond line state, the directionality of the edges may or may not bedisplayed and/or apparent. For example, in an embodiment, in the secondline state arrows may not be displayed. In an embodiment, in the secondline state the width or thickness of the edges may be made constant,such that it may not vary based on the number of user transitions. In anembodiment, in the second line state two edges connecting the same twonodes may overlap one-another such that they may not be distinguishable.In an embodiment, the second line state may be selected by the operatorsuch that the graph may more clearly and more easily be investigated. Inan embodiment, the second line state may require less processor power torender, and thus may be advantageous on computer systems with limitedprocessing resources. In an embodiment, the system may automaticallyselect a line state as a default selection for the toggle lines option.In an embodiment, some edges displayed on the graph may be straightwhile some may be curved. For example, in an embodiment, when two nodeare sufficiently close to one another (based on some predeterminedcriteria), any edge between the two nodes automatically becomesstraight. This embodiment may be desired as, when two nodes are close toone another, a straight edge may be indistinguishable from a curvedline.

In an embodiment, when the “Toggle Display of Section Colors” option ofthe settings pane 150 is selected by the operator, the displayed key 110(as shown in FIG. 1A) is toggled between a visible state and aninvisible state. In an embodiment, displaying the key 110 may be usefulwhen a screenshot of the user interface is taken and later referenced,as colors associated with the different sections may then bedeterminable in the screenshot. In an embodiment, the system mayautomatically select a visibility state as a default selection for thetoggle display of section colors option.

In an embodiment, when the “Show Articles Table” option of the settingspane 150 is selected by the operator, an article table is displayed tothe operator. The article table is described in detail in reference toFIG. 5 below.

In an embodiment, the transition/edge display threshold may be variable.For example, the threshold may vary based on a distance from aparticular node, for example a homepage. In another embodiment, thethreshold may vary based on the repulsion value. Alternatively, therepulsion value may vary based on the transition threshold, the numberof transitions associated with a particular edge, and/or some othermetric associated with a node and/or edge.

Turning back to FIG. 1B, graph 130 includes user interaction datasimilar to that shown in graph 112 of FIG. 1A, with the exceptions thatthe display is zoomed in on the graph, and additional edges/transitionlines are shown. In the embodiment of FIG. 1B, the operator has selectedthe “Set Transition Display Threshold” option from the settings pane132, and adjusted the display threshold to a lower value such thatadditional edges may be visible in the graph 130 (for example, edge120). For example, the operator may have changed the threshold from 1000to 500. The newly added edges have been darkened in FIG. 1B forillustrative purposes and so that they may be distinguished. However,typically the newly added edges would be narrower than the previouslydisplayed edges as the newly added edges represent fewer usertransitions than the previously displayed edges.

In an embodiment, and as described above, the graph may be manipulatedby the operator. For example, the operator may move individual nodesand/or groups of nodes. In an embodiment, the graph may re-adjustautomatically when a node or edge has been manipulated and/or moved, forexample, when the graph is not “frozen”. In an example, nodes may beselectively added or removed by the operator. In another example, nodesmay be automatically added to the graph based on some criteria in ananimated fashion, as is described below in reference to FIGS. 4A-4F. Invarious embodiments, the graph may be manipulated by the operator inother ways not explicitly listed above.

In an embodiment, the operator may select particular user interactiondata of interest to be displayed in the graph. For example, the operatormay choose to view user interaction data from a particular morning,evening, and/or other time of day. Alternatively, the operator maychoose to view user interaction data associated with users having aparticular characteristic, for example, users that are male or female.In an embodiment, the operator may choose to view user interaction databased on any combination of metrics and/or timeframes.

Sample User Interface—Example Tablet and Smartphone App Graphs

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate additional sample user interfaces of the userinteraction data analysis system, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The example user interfaces of FIGS. 2A-2C aregenerated based on similar graph generation rules, characteristics,and/or settings as were described above with reference to FIGS. 1A-1B.However, rather than being based on web app user interaction data (aswas the case in FIGS. 1A-1B), FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate user interfaces inwhich tablet app user interaction data is visualized, while FIG. 2Dillustrates a user interface in which smartphone app user interactiondata is visualized. As in FIGS. 1A-1B, the user interfaces of FIGS.2A-2D may be displayed in a browser window, may include a graph displayarea, and may be implemented in one or more computer modules and/orprocessors, as is described below with reference to FIGS. 8A-8B.Further, in the user interfaces of FIGS. 2A-2D, the sidebar and settingspane are both collapsed.

FIGS. 2A-2C display force-directed graphs that are based on tablet appuser interaction data. The tablet app from which the FIG. 2A-2C data isderived provides the same or similar example news content as is used inthe web app of FIG. 1A. In contrast with graph 112 of FIG. 1A, thegraphs of FIGS. 2A-2C show a linear user behavior in which usersgenerally transition from one article to the next.

Specifically with reference to FIG. 2A, graph 210 includes various nodesand edges as described in reference to FIG. 1A. The nodes and/or edgesmay be manipulated, sized, colored, and/or adjusted as described abovein reference to FIGS. 1A-1D. In the example of FIG. 2A, the node fillcolors are based on sections. Additionally, the nodes are sized based onnumber of unique visitors. As may be observed, users generallytransition from homepage node 201 and move linearly through varioussports articles, and then through various other articles. It may also beobserved that generally each subsequent article has fewer uniquevisitors as visitors leave the tablet app and/or transition to otherarticles. Other user transitions may be seen, for example the usertransition along edge 202 from an article in the sports section to anarticle in another section. Additionally, the operator is hovering acursor over and/or has selected node 203, resulting in the pop over 204displaying various items of information associated with node 203. Forexample, it may be seen that node 203 is associated with an articlenamed “Example Article 1,” and which is available at the URL“www.example.com/article1.” Further, Example Article 1 is found in thesports section.

With reference to FIG. 2B, the same user interaction data is displayedas is displayed in FIG. 2A. However, the operator has chosen to size thenodes constantly. Thus, all the nodes in graph 220 of FIG. 2B are thesame size.

With reference to FIG. 2C, the same user interaction data is displayedas is displayed in FIGS. 2A-2B. However, the operator has chosen to sizethe nodes logarithmically based on visit count. Thus, certain nodes ingraph 230 of FIG. 2C have significantly different relative sizes.Additionally, FIG. 2C shows that the operator is hovering a cursor overand/or has selected node 231, resulting in the pop over 232 displayingvarious items of information associated with node 231. For example, itmay be seen that node 231 is associated with an article named“Pictures,” and is found in the opinion section. In this example, thepop over 232 has different characteristics than the pop over 204 (ofFIG. 2A). In various embodiments, pop overs of the system may includedifferent and/or varying characteristics, and/or may be displayed indifferent formats.

FIG. 2D displays a force-directed graph that is based on smartphone appuser interaction data. The smartphone app from which the FIG. 2D data isderived provides the same or similar example news content as is used inthe web app of FIG. 1A. In contrast with graph 112 of FIG. 1A, graph 240of FIG. 2D shows a semi-linear user behavior in which users sometimestransition from one article to the next, but in which users alsofrequently jump from one article to another in a non-linear way. Suchbehavior may be referred to as “navigation loops.” In the example ofFIG. 2D, the nodes of graph 240 are sized constantly. Additionally, inFIG. 2D the operator is hovering a cursor over and/or has selected edge243, resulting in the pop over 244 displaying various items ofinformation associated with edge 243. For example, it may be seen thatedge 243 originates at Article 15 (which is in the section Arts) andends at Article 23 (which is in Sports).

In various embodiments, the system may enable an operator to compare andcontrast user behaviors and/or patterns among the various platforms. Forexample, the system enables an operator to clearly see that users of thetablet app move linearly from one article to the next, users of the webapp jump from homepage to article to homepage, and users of thesmartphone app move in semi-linear paths. Additionally, the operator maydetermine, for example, that the web app generally has a higher exitpercentage than the tablet app. The operator may conclude, for example,that the tablet app is more appropriate for longform reading, while theweb app and/or the smartphone app is more appropriate for shorterarticles and user visits.

Sample User Interface—Example Sections Graph

FIG. 3A illustrates a sample user interface of the user interaction dataanalysis system in which a sections graph is displayed, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. As in figures described above, theuser interface of FIG. 3A may be displayed in a browser window, mayinclude a graph display area, and may be implemented in one or morecomputer modules and/or processors, as is described below with referenceto FIGS. 8A-8B. Further, the user interface of FIG. 3A includes asidebar with section information 308 and a force-directed graph 302.

The graph 302 of FIG. 3A shows user interaction data aggregated intosections. For example, each node of the graph 302 represents aparticular section, while the edges each represent aggregated usertransitions from any article in a given section, to any other article inanother section. In an embodiment, the sections graph 302 is useful toenable the operator to determine user behavior at a higher level (forexample, sections rather than articles).

FIG. 3A shows that the operator is hovering a cursor over and/or hasselected node 304, resulting in the pop over 306 displaying variousitems of information associated with node 304. For example, it may beseen that node 304 is associated with the opinion section. Additionally,various data and information associated with the selected node 304 isdisplayed in the sidebar. Section information 308 indicates, forexample, that the section is the opinion section, and various metricsassociated with the section (similar to that described above inreference to FIG. 1A). Indicator 310 indicates that “uniques” isselected, causing the system to display a graph showing the change innumber of unique visitors to the opinion section over time. Such asidebar graph may be useful, for example, to enable the operator todetermine how the number of unique visitors/users decays as the userstransition through a particular section. For example, the operator maydetermine that users exit from a particular section very quickly. In anembodiment, the sidebar graph may be made specific to a particulardemographic. For example, the operator may examine the behavior of malesover time within a particular section.

FIGS. 3B-3F illustrate various other sample section information sidebarsof the user interaction data analysis system, according to embodimentsof the present disclosure. Any of the example section sidebars of FIGS.3B-3F may be displayed on the user interface of FIG. 3A.

Sidebar 320 of FIG. 3B shows a graph indicating a change in a number ofunique users/visitors to a sports section over time. Sidebar 322 of FIG.3C shows a graph indicating the change in a number of user exits fromthe sports section over time. Sidebar 324 of FIG. 3D shows a graphindicating the change in a number of visitors or visits from users tothe sports section over time. Sidebar 326 of FIG. 3E shows a graphindicating the change in a fraction of exits divided by number of uniquevisitors for the sports section over time. Sidebar 328 of FIG. 3F showsa graph indicating the change in a fraction of exits divided by numberof user visits for the sports section over time. In various embodiments,other user data/metrics may be displayed in a graph format in thesidebar. In an embodiment, graphical user interaction data may bepresented on the sidebar of, for example, FIG. 1A.

Sample Operator Manipulations and Graph Animation

FIGS. 4A-4F illustrate additional sample user interfaces of the userinteraction data analysis system in which graph nodes are added,removed, and/or animated, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As in the figures above, the user interfaces of FIGS. 4A-4Fmay be displayed in a browser window 102, and may include a graphdisplay area, a sidebar, and/or a settings panel. As with theembodiments above, the embodiments of FIGS. 4A-4F may be implemented inone or more computer modules and/or processors, as is described belowwith reference to FIGS. 8A-8B.

As indicated by indicator 405, the user interaction data displayed inthe graph of FIG. 4A is from an iPhone (for example, a smartphone app)and collected on Friday, 2013-01-25. A displayed graph 402 currentlyincludes two nodes, including selected node 404. The currently displayednodes may have been added to the graph 402 automatically by the systembased on a selection of the operator, and/or manually by the operator.For example, the operator may have selected the particulararticles/pages that they wanted to view on the graph. Informationassociated with the selected node 404 is displayed in the sidebar 406.For example, currently selected node 404 is titled “Homepage,” hasvarious associated sources from which users arrive at the article/page(as indicated by 407), and has various associated destinations to whichusers go when leaving the article/page (as indicated by 408).

In an embodiment, the operator may select “Add link to graph” 410, atwhich point a node associated with the particular listed destinationarticle may be added to the graph 402. In an embodiment, when the userhovers a cursor over, and/or otherwise selects a source and/ordestination from the sidebar, an “Add link to graph” button or link isautomatically displayed. The result of selecting “Add link to graph” 410is shown in FIG. 4B.

As shown in FIG. 4B, a new node 422 has been added, resulting in thedisplayed graph 420. Node 422 may be selected by the operator, resultingthe in the display of a pop over and associated article information inthe sidebar 424. Included in the sidebar 424 is destination article 426“Example News Article 7.” The operator may again select to add a node tothe graph 420 by selecting an “Add link to graph” link associated withthe destination article 426. The result of adding a node to the graphassociated with destination article 426 is shown in FIG. 4C.

As shown in FIG. 4C, a new node 434 has been added, resulting in thedisplayed graph 430. Node 443 may be selected by the operator, resultingin display of associated article information in the sidebar 436.Included in the sidebar 436 is link 438 “Animate User Flow From thispage>.” In an embodiment, selecting link 438 will cause the system toautomatically begin adding successive destinations to the graph in ananimated fashion. For example, in an embodiment, the most common (byunique user transitions) destination of the currently selected node maybe added to the graph. Then, the most common destination associated withthe newly added node may be automatically added to the graph. Thisprocess may continue automatically until, for example, a node is addedwhich has no further destinations (or no further destinations that havea number of transitions above the currently set threshold). For example,when the transition display threshold is set to a value of 100, when anode is added with no destinations having more than 100 transitions, theanimation may stop. In another embodiment, the animation process maycontinue automatically until, for example, a node is encountered thatalready exists on the graph. In an embodiment, the animation may proceedat a pace slow enough such that the operator may observe each node as itis being added to the graph. In an embodiment, the animation may providethe operator insights into common user interaction patterns with thedisplayed content and platform.

In an embodiment, selecting link 438 may result in a graph 440 shown inFIG. 4D. As shown in graph 440, various nodes and associated edges havebeen automatically added to the graph. As further shown, the operatorhas again selected node 422, and information associated with that nodeis displayed in sidebar 442. At this point, the operator may againselect an “Animate User Flow From this page>” link 444. In anembodiment, the selecting the animation link 444 will cause the systemto automatically begin adding successive destinations to the graph in ananimated fashion. In an embodiment, the automatically added destinationsmay be designated to be, for example, the most common destinations thatare not already displayed in the graph. Accordingly, selecting theanimation link associated with node 422 a second time may causedifferent nodes to be added to the graph than were previously added, asshown in FIG. 4E.

As shown in graph 450 of FIG. 4E, additional destination nodes 451 havebeen added. Additionally, in an embodiment, other commontransitions/edges between already displayed nodes may be added when theanimation link is selected. This may be seen, for example, in theaddition of edge 452 to graph 450. In FIG. 4E, node 422 is againselected by the operator, and the sidebar 442 includes variousinformation associated with the node. In an embodiment, the operator mayselect button 453, “Hide on Graph,” to remove the currently selectednode (and/or nodes) from the graph. Selecting button 453 may result in,for example, a graph 460 as shown in FIG. 4F. In the graph 460, node 422has been removed, and each of the remaining nodes has moved and/orreadjusted based on the forces associated with the nodes and edges.

In an embodiment, the operator may choose to view all exits and/ordestinations from a particular article/node. In this embodiment, theoperator may, for example, manually add a particular node to the graph,and select to views all exits and/or destinations from that node. Such aselection may result in, for example, the automatic addition of edgesand nodes to the graph representing all transitions from the particularnode, and all destinations.

Article Table

FIG. 5 illustrates a sample user interface of the user interaction dataanalysis system in which an article table is displayed, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. The user interface of FIG. 5 maybe displayed when, for example, the operator selects “Show ArticleTable” in the settings panel 150 of FIG. 10. As in the figures above,the user interfaces of FIG. 5 may be displayed in a browser window. Aswith the embodiments above, the embodiment of FIG. 5 may be implementedin one or more computer modules and/or processors, as is described belowwith reference to FIGS. 8A-8B.

The user interface of FIG. 5 includes an article table window 502. Thearticle table window 502 includes an article table 504, a “records perpage” selector 506, navigation buttons 508, and search box 510. Thearticle table 504 includes columns of article information includingarticle name, an estimated page number, a section, a unique visitorcount, and a visitors exiting from site/app. Each row of the articletable 504 includes information associated with a particular article. Forexample, the first row of the article table includes informationassociated with an article named “Article 25.” Article 25 has anestimated page number of 3, is associated with the section News, has had230 unique visitors, and has had 88 exits. In an embodiment, the rows ofthe article table 504 may be selectively sorted according to dataassociated with any particular column. For example, the article table504 has been sorted according to the number of unique visitors. In anembodiment, the estimated page number of each article is generated bythe system based on a particular set of rules. For example, theestimated page number of an article may be based on the articles'position in a generally linear user interaction flow derived from theassociated graph. In another example, the articles' estimated pagenumber may be assigned based on a popularity metric, such as apopularity metric based on a combination of the number of views andunique visitors. In another example, the articles' estimated page numbermay be based on the number of edges between a particular article and ahomepage.

In an embodiment, the information displayed in the article table isdrawn from the same set of user interaction data as is displayed in theuser interface graph when “Show Article Table” is selected in thesettings panel. For example, if user interaction data for a particularday is displayed in the graph, viewing the article table will showunique visitor counts based on the same set of data aggregated over theselected particular day. In an embodiment, when the operator has removedand/or added particular nodes to the graph, the article table displaysinformation consistent with the particular articles being removed and/oradded.

In an embodiment, the operator may select the number of articles to beviewed in a particular page of the articles table shown in the articlestable window 502. In an embodiment, the operator may use the navigationbuttons 508 to move from one page of the articles table to another. Inan embodiment, the operator may search among all the articles data bytyping term and/or other commands into the search box 510. For example,when the operator searches for “News,” only articles associated with thesection News may be displayed in the articles table. In an embodiment,searches with the search box 510 are implemented as a live search, suchthat results are immediately updated and displayed in the articles tableas the operator types.

In an embodiment, articles table 502 may comprise a listing of othertypes of content. For example, the table may include a listing of pages,rather than articles. In an embodiment, the system may enable exportingof information displayed in the articles table to another format, forexample as a CSV (comma-separated values) file.

Additional Sample Sidebars

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate additional sample information sidebars of theuser interaction data analysis system, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Sidebar 602 of FIG. 6A illustrates various usermetric data that may be displayed for a particular selected article,“Example Article 8.” For example, data regarding section, exits, usergender, and user age are displayed. Sidebar 604 of FIG. 6B illustratesvarious user metric data that may be displayed for a particular selectedtransition/edge. For example, data regarding the number of users makingthe selected transition or skipping the transition, time before thetransition, user gender, and user age are displayed. As described above,various other user interaction data and/or metrics may be displayed inthe sidebar of the user interface of the system.

Sample Operations

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart depicting illustrative operations and/orprocesses of the user interaction data analysis system, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In various embodiments, fewerblocks or additional blocks may be included in the processes, or variousblocks may be performed in an order different from that shown in FIG. 7.In an embodiment, one or more blocks in FIG. 7 may be performed by, orimplemented in, one or more computer modules and/or processors, as isdescribed below with reference to FIGS. 8A-8B.

As shown in FIG. 7, in an embodiment blocks 702-704 may be performed byand/or occur at one or more computing devices with which users interact.Blocks 706-714, on the other hand, may be performed by and/or occur at acomputer server of the system. These various aspects of the userinteraction data analysis system are further described below inreference to FIGS. 8A-8B.

At block 702, user interactions are received at one or more computingdevices. For example, user interactions with web apps, tablet apps,and/or smartphone apps (among others) may be tracked and/or stored. Atblock 704, the user interaction data is communicated to a server of thesystem.

At block 706, the user interaction data is received at the server. Thedata is then processed by the server at block 708. For example, the userinteraction data may be organized by platform and/or time. Further, usermetrics may be processed and/or analyzed. At block 710, a user interfaceis generated that displays the processed user interaction data, asdescribed with reference to the figures above. For example, aforce-directed graph showing user interactions with a particularplatform on a particular day may be displayed on the user interface.

At block 712, the operator may interact with the user interface of thesystem in any of the ways described above. These actions are received bythe system, and at block 714, the user interface is updated in responseto the operator's actions. For example, the operator may select a node,causing the system to display information associated with that node. Inanother example, the operator may manipulate one or more nodes of thegraph, and/or change various settings, causing the system to update thedisplayed graph.

In various embodiments, user interaction data may be received andprocessed by the system at any time and/or continuously. In anembodiment, user interaction data may be updated even as the operator isviewing the data on the user interface. For example, in an embodiment,the operator may use the system to analyze substantially real-time userinteraction data.

As mentioned above, the user interaction data analysis system isadvantageously configured to provide analysis and visualizations of userinteraction data to a system operator (or one or more operators). Invarious embodiments, interactive visualizations and analyses provided bythe system may be based on user interaction data aggregated acrossparticular groups of users, across particular time frames, and/or fromparticular computer-based platforms and/or applications. According tovarious embodiments, the system may enable insights into, for example,user interaction patterns and/or ways to optimize for desired userinteractions, among others. In an embodiment, the system allows anoperator to analyze and investigate user interactions with contentprovided via one or more computer-based platforms, softwareapplications, and/or software application editions. For example, thesystem may enable the discovery of where users generally leave a linear(or semi-linear) article flow of an app. The system may enable thediscovery of whether a particular app navigation structure or interfaceis generally meeting users' need. The system may enable an operator todetermine which articles/pages are popular or unpopular, or whicharticles are generally skipped by users. The order in which articlesand/or sections are displayed in an app may be optimized based on userinteractions. In another example, in-app advertisement placement may beoptimized based on insights provided by the system regarding userbehaviors. Other advantages not explicitly listed may additionallyenabled by the user interaction data analysis system.

Implementation Mechanisms

FIG. 8A illustrates a network environment in which the user interactiondata analysis system may operate, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The network environment 850 may include one or morecomputing devices 852, one or more mobile computing devices 854, anetwork 856, an interaction server 858, and a content data store 860.The constituents of the network environment 850 may be in communicationwith each other either locally or over the network 856.

In an embodiment, the computing device(s) 852 and/or the mobilecomputing device(s) 854 may be any computing devices capable ofdisplaying content to a user and receiving input from the user. Forexample, the computing device(s) 852 and/or the mobile computingdevice(s) 854 may include one or more of the types of computer-enableddevices mentioned above, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and/orother types of computing devices. The computing device(s) 852 and/or themobile computing device(s) 854 may also be capable of communicating overthe network 856, for example, to request media, content, and/orapplication data from, and/or to provide user interaction data to, theinteraction server 858.

In some embodiments, the computing device(s) 852 and/or the mobilecomputing device(s) 854 may include non-transitory computer-readablemedium storage for storing content information, app data, and/orcollected user interaction data. For example, either of the computingdevice(s) 852 and/or the mobile computing device(s) 854 may include oneor more software modules that may implement aspects of the functionalityof the user interaction data analysis system. These may include, forexample, software application 862 and/or user interaction module 864.The software application 862 may be configured to present content to auser and receive interactions from the user. For example, the softwareapplication 862 may comprise a web app, smartphone app, and/or tabletapp, among others. The user interaction module 864 may be configured togather user interaction data as the user interacts with the softwareapplication, and to communicate the user interaction data to theinteraction server 858 for processing and display in the system userinterface. Additional aspects, operations, and/or functionality ofcomputing device(s) 852 and/or the mobile computing device(s) 854 aredescribed in further detail in reference to FIG. 8B below.

The network 856 may be any wired network, wireless network, orcombination thereof. In addition, the network 856 may be a personal areanetwork, local area network, wide area network, cable network, satellitenetwork, cellular telephone network, or combination thereof. Protocolsand components for communicating via the Internet or any of the otheraforementioned types of communication networks are well known to thoseskilled in the art of computer communications and thus, need not bedescribed in more detail herein.

The interaction server 858 is a computing device, similar to thecomputing devices described above, that may perform a variety of tasksto implement the operations of the user interaction data analysissystem. The interaction server may include one or more software modules870 that may be configured to, for example, receive user interactiondata, process user interaction data, display the user interface(including the graph including nodes and edges), receive inputs from theoperator, and/or update the user interface. The user interaction datamay be received from the computing device(s) 852 and/or the mobilecomputing device(s) 854 over the network 856. Additional aspects,operations, and/or functionality of interaction server 858 are describedin further detail in referenced to FIG. 8B below.

The interaction server 858 may be in communication with the content datastore 860. The content data store 860 may store, for example, receivedand/or processed user interaction data, among other data. The contentdata store 860 may be embodied in hard disk drives, solid statememories, and/or any other type of non-transitory, computer-readablestorage medium remotely or locally accessible to the interaction server858. The content data store 860 may also be distributed or partitionedacross multiple storage devices as is known in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

In various embodiments, the system may be accessible by the operatorthrough a web-based viewer, such as a web browser. In this embodiment,the user interface may be generated by the interaction server 858 andtransmitted to the web browser of the operator. The operator may theninteract with the user interface through the web-browser. In anembodiment, the user interface of the user interaction data analysissystem may be accessible through a dedicated software application. In anembodiment, the user interface of the user interaction data analysissystem may be accessible through a mobile computing device, such as asmartphone and/or tablet. In this embodiment, the interaction server 858may generate and transmit a user interface to the mobile computingdevice. Alternatively, the mobile computing device may include modulesfor generating the user interface, and the interaction server 858 mayprovide user interaction data to the mobile computing device. In anembodiment, the interaction server 858 comprises a mobile computingdevice.

According to various embodiments, the user interaction data analysissystem and other methods and techniques described herein are implementedby one or more special-purpose computing devices. The special-purposecomputing devices may be hard-wired to perform the techniques, or mayinclude digital electronic devices such as one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs) that are persistently programmed to perform thetechniques, or may include one or more general purpose hardwareprocessors programmed to perform the techniques pursuant to programinstructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or a combination. Suchspecial-purpose computing devices may also combine custom hard-wiredlogic, ASICs, or FPGAs with custom programming to accomplish thetechniques. The special-purpose computing devices may be desktopcomputer systems, server computer systems, portable computer systems,handheld devices, networking devices or any other device or combinationof devices that incorporate hard-wired and/or program logic to implementthe techniques.

Computing device(s) are generally controlled and coordinated byoperating system software, such as iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows XP,Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, Windows CE, Unix,Linux, SunOS, Solaris, iOS, Blackberry OS, VxWorks, or other compatibleoperating systems. In other embodiments, the computing device may becontrolled by a proprietary operating system. Conventional operatingsystems control and schedule computer processes for execution, performmemory management, provide file system, networking, I/O services, andprovide a user interface functionality, such as a graphical userinterface (“GUI”), among other things.

For example, FIG. 8B is a block diagram that illustrates a computersystem 800 upon which the various systems, devices, and/or methodsdiscussed herein may be implemented. For example, some or all aspects ofcomputing system 800 may be included in any of computing device(s) 852,mobile computing device(s) 854, and/or interaction server 858. In anembodiment, each of the computing device(s) 852, mobile computingdevice(s) 854, and interaction server 858 is comprised of a computingsystem similar to the computer system 800 of FIG. 8B. Computer system800 includes a bus 802 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a hardware processor, or multipleprocessors, 804 coupled with bus 802 for processing information.Hardware processor(s) 804 may be, for example, one or more generalpurpose microprocessors.

Computer system 800 also includes a main memory 806, such as a randomaccess memory (RAM), cache and/or other dynamic storage devices, coupledto bus 802 for storing information and instructions to be executed byprocessor 804. Main memory 806 also may be used for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during execution ofinstructions to be executed by processor 804. Such instructions, whenstored in storage media accessible to processor 804, render computersystem 800 into a special-purpose machine that is customized to performthe operations specified in the instructions.

Computer system 800 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 808 orother static storage device coupled to bus 802 for storing staticinformation and instructions for processor 804. A storage device 810,such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or USB thumb drive (Flash drive),etc., is provided and coupled to bus 802 for storing information andinstructions.

Computer system 800 may be coupled via bus 802 to a display 812, such asa cathode ray tube (CRT), LCD display, or touch screen display, fordisplaying information to a computer user and/or receiving input fromthe user or operator. An input device 814, including alphanumeric andother keys, is coupled to bus 802 for communicating information andcommand selections to processor 804. Another type of user input deviceis cursor control 816, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor directionkeys for communicating direction information and command selections toprocessor 804 and for controlling cursor movement on display 812. Thisinput device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a firstaxis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device tospecify positions in a plane. In some embodiments, the same directioninformation and command selections as cursor control may be implementedvia receiving touches on a touch screen without a cursor.

Computing system 800 may include modules to a user interface and thevarious other aspects of the user interaction data analysis system.These modules may include, for example, the software application 862,the user interaction module 864, and/or the other software module(s) 870described above, among others. The modules may be stored in a massstorage device as executable software codes that are executed by thecomputing device(s). This and other modules may include, by way ofexample, components, such as software components, object-orientedsoftware components, class components and task components, processes,functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of programcode, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, datastructures, tables, arrays, and variables.

In general, the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodiedin hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions,possibly having entry and exit points, written in a programminglanguage, such as, for example, Java, Lua, C or C++. A software modulemay be compiled and linked into an executable program, installed in adynamic link library, or may be written in an interpreted programminglanguage such as, for example, BASIC, Perl, or Python. It will beappreciated that software modules may be callable from other modules orfrom themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events orinterrupts. Software modules configured for execution on computingdevices may be provided on a computer readable medium, such as a compactdisc, digital video disc, flash drive, magnetic disc, or any othertangible medium, or as a digital download (and may be originally storedin a compressed or installable format that requires installation,decompression or decryption prior to execution). Such software code maybe stored, partially or fully, on a memory device of the executingcomputing device, for execution by the computing device. Softwareinstructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will befurther appreciated that hardware modules may be comprised of connectedlogic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or may be comprised ofprogrammable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. Themodules or computing device functionality described herein arepreferably implemented as software modules, but may be represented inhardware or firmware. Generally, the modules described herein refer tological modules that may be combined with other modules or divided intosub-modules despite their physical organization or storage

Computer system 800 may implement the techniques described herein usingcustomized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/orprogram logic which in combination with the computer system causes orprograms computer system 800 to be a special-purpose machine. Accordingto one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computersystem 800 in response to processor(s) 804 executing one or moresequences of one or more modules and/or instructions contained in mainmemory 806. Such instructions may be read into main memory 806 fromanother storage medium, such as storage device 810. Execution of thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 806 causesprocessor(s) 804 to perform the process steps described herein. Inalternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of orin combination with software instructions.

The term “non-transitory media,” and similar terms, as used hereinrefers to any media that store data and/or instructions that cause amachine to operate in a specific fashion. Such non-transitory media maycomprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile mediaincludes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device810. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 806.Common forms of non-transitory media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, orany other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical datastorage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, aPROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip orcartridge, and networked versions of the same.

Non-transitory media is distinct from but may be used in conjunctionwith transmission media. Transmission media participates in transferringinformation between nontransitory media. For example, transmission mediaincludes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including thewires that comprise bus 802. Transmission media can also take the formof acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-waveand infra-red data communications.

Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequencesof one or more instructions to processor 804 for execution. For example,the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solidstate drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions and/or modules into its dynamic memory and send theinstructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local tocomputer system 800 can receive the data on the telephone line and usean infra-red transmitter to convert the data to an infra-red signal. Aninfra-red detector can receive the data carried in the infra-red signaland appropriate circuitry can place the data on bus 802. Bus 802 carriesthe data to main memory 806, from which processor 804 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by main memory 806may optionally be stored on storage device 810 either before or afterexecution by processor 804.

Computer system 800 also includes a communication interface 818 coupledto bus 802. Communication interface 818 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to a network link 820 that may be connected toany other interface and/or network, for example network 856 of FIG. 8A.For example, communication interface 818 may be an integrated servicesdigital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellite modem, or a modem toprovide a data communication connection to a corresponding type oftelephone line. As another example, communication interface 818 may be alocal area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connectionto a compatible LAN (or WAN component to communicate with a WAN).Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation,communication interface 818 sends and receives electrical,electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streamsrepresenting various types of information.

Network link 820 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 820 mayprovide a connection through one or more local or non-local networks tohost computers or other data equipment operated by an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP).

In an embodiment, the network link 820 may provide data communicationservices through the world wide packet data communication network nowcommonly referred to as the “Internet.” Communication may beaccomplished through the user of, for example, electrical,electromagnetic, and/or optical signals that carry digital data streams.The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link820 and through communication interface 818, which carry the digitaldata to and from computer system 800, are example forms of transmissionmedia.

Computer system 800 may send messages and/or receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 820 and communicationinterface 818. In the Internet example, a server or othercomputer-enabled device or system may transmit a requested code for anapplication program through one or more networks and/or communicationinterface 818.

Each of the processes, methods, and algorithms described in thepreceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partially automatedby, code modules executed by one or more computer systems or computerprocessors comprising computer hardware. The processes and algorithmsmay be implemented partially or wholly in application-specificcircuitry.

The various features and processes described above may be usedindependently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. Allpossible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall withinthe scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method or processblocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processesdescribed herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, andthe blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in othersequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or statesmay be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, ormultiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state.The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, orin some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed fromthe disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and componentsdescribed herein may be configured differently than described. Forexample, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged comparedto the disclosed example embodiments.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps areincluded or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure. The foregoing description details certainembodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated, however, that nomatter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the invention can bepracticed in many ways. As is also stated above, it should be noted thatthe use of particular terminology when describing certain features oraspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that theterminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to including anyspecific characteristics of the features or aspects of the inventionwith which that terminology is associated. The scope of the inventionshould therefore be construed in accordance with the appended claims andany equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system comprising: one or morecomputer readable storage devices configured to store computerexecutable instructions; and one or more computing devices configured toexecute the computer executable instructions in order to cause the oneor more computing devices to: generate user interface data useable torender a user interface including at least: a plurality of graph nodeseach representing respective content items with which one or more usershave interacted; and a plurality of graph edges each representing usertransitions between content items, each of the graph edges connectingrespective graph nodes representing respective content items, whereinuser interaction data indicates user interactions with content items asrepresented by the graphs nodes and user transitions between contentitems as represented by the graph edges; calculate respective forcesassociated with one or more graph nodes of the plurality of graph nodesbased at least in part on respective numbers of users interacting withcontent items represented by the respective one or more graph nodes;calculate respective forces associated with one or more graph edges ofthe plurality of graph edges based at least in part on respectivenumbers of user transitions from one content item to another contentitem represented by the respective one or more graph edges; determinespatial locations of the plurality of graph nodes in the user interfacewith respect to spatial locations of other of the plurality of graphnodes in the user interface based at least in part on the forcesassociated with the one or more graph nodes and the forces associatedwith the one or more graph edges; and for each graph edge of theplurality of graph edges: determine whether the user interaction dataassociated with the graph edge indicates more or less than a thresholdnumber of user transitions; and in response to determining the userinteraction data associated with the graph edge indicates more or lessthan the threshold number of user transitions, not include, in the userinterface, the graph edge.
 2. The computer system of claim 1, whereinthe forces associated with each of the plurality of graph nodes arerepulsive forces.
 3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the forcesassociated with each of the plurality of graph edges are contractiveforces.
 4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein at least one of theforces associated with the plurality of graph nodes or the plurality ofgraph edges is adjustable by an operator.
 5. The computer system ofclaim 1, wherein the spatial locations of the plurality of graph nodesin the user interface are optimized so as to enable an operator of thecomputer system to determine one or more user interaction patterns. 6.The computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of graph nodes andthe plurality of graph edges are individually selectable by an operatorof the computer system, and wherein, in response to selection of atleast one of the plurality of graph nodes or the plurality of graphedges, the one or more computing devices are configured to execute thecomputer executable instructions in order to further cause the one ormore computing devices to generate user interface data useable to rendera user interface including at least: one or more metrics based oninteractions of users represented by the selected at least one of theplurality of graph nodes or the plurality of graph edges.
 7. Thecomputer system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of graph edgesis directional and curved.
 8. The computer system of claim 1, whereinthe content items include at least one of news content, textual content,visual content, audio content, or video content, and wherein userinteractions with respective content items are obtained via datacollected as multiple users interact with respective content itemsprovided through a software application.
 9. A method comprising: causingdisplay, on an electronic display and by a computing system includingone or more computing devices configured to execute specific computerexecutable instructions, of at least a graph including: a plurality ofnodes each representing respective content items with which one or moreusers have interacted; and a plurality of edges each representing usertransitions between content items, each of the edges connectingrespective nodes representing respective content items; calculatingforces associated with one or more nodes of the plurality of nodes basedat least in part on respective numbers of users interacting with contentitems represented by the respective one or more nodes; calculatingforces associated with one or more edges of the plurality of edges basedat least in part on respective numbers of user transitions from onecontent item to another content item represented by the respective oneor more edges; and optimizing a spatial layout of the displayed graphaccording to the forces associated with the one or more nodes and theforces associated with the one or more edges.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the spatial layout of the displayed graph is updated in responseto inputs from the operator.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein, inresponse to the inputs from the operator, the spatial layout of thedisplayed graph is updated by at least one of: adding nodes and/oredges, removing nodes and/or edges, or adjusting spatial locations ofthe nodes and/or edges.
 12. The method of claim 10 further comprising,by the computing system: in response to receiving an input from theoperator indicating selection of an animation option associated with aparticular selected node, successively adding edges and nodes to thegraph in an animated fashion, wherein each successively added noderepresents a most common user destination from a previously added node.13. The method of claim 9 further comprising, by the computing system:in response to receiving an input from an operator indicating selectionof a transition display threshold, determining, for each edge, a numberof user transitions represented by that edge; and in response to thenumber of user transitions represented by a particular edge satisfyingthe selected transition display threshold, not including the particularedge in the graph.
 14. A computer readable storage medium storingcomputer executable instructions configured for execution by one or morehardware processors of a computer system to cause the computer systemto: display a graph including at least: a plurality of circular graphnodes each representing respective content items with which one or moreusers have interacted; and a plurality of graph edges each representinguser transitions between content items, each of the graph edgesconnecting respective circular graph nodes representing respectivecontent items, wherein each of the plurality of circular graph nodes issized according to user interaction data associated with the respectivecircular graph nodes; calculate forces associated with one or morecircular graph nodes of the plurality of circular graph nodes based atleast in part on respective numbers of users interacting with contentitems represented by the respective one or more circular graph nodes;calculate forces associated with one or more graph edges of theplurality of graph edges based at least in part on respective numbers ofuser transitions from one content item to another content itemrepresented by the respective one or more graph edges; and optimize aspatial layout of the displayed graph according to the forces associatedwith the one or more circular graph nodes and the forces associated withthe one or more graph edges.
 15. The computer readable storage medium ofclaim 14, wherein each of the plurality of circular graph nodes is sizedbased on a number of user interactions associated with respectivecontent items represented by respective circular graph nodes.
 16. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein each of theplurality of circular graph nodes includes a fill color and/or a bordercolor based on one or more user interactions associated with respectivecontent items represented by respective circular graph nodes.
 17. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein locations of eachof the plurality of circular graph nodes in the displayed graph aredetermined based on user interaction data associated with the respectivecircular graph nodes.
 18. The computer readable storage medium of claim14, wherein the computer executable instructions are further configuredfor execution by the one or more hardware processors of the computersystem to cause the computer system to: in response to receiving aninput from an operator indicating selection of a transition displaythreshold, determining, for each edge, a number of user transitionsrepresented by that edge; and in response to the number of usertransitions represented by a particular edge satisfying the selectedtransition display threshold, not including the particular edge in thegraph.